Maps of Music

Human (2021)

Where the lyrics of Human take you, and where it was really made.

The album was first set for late 2019, was pushed back several times, and finally came out on 27 August 2021.

Key places

Recorded at Patriot Studios, Los Angeles (2021)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — Discogs lists Patriot Studios in Los Angeles among the places where this album was recorded. The pin sits at the city centre, not at the exact building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Soho House, Amsterdam (2021)

Recording site Soho House Amsterdam — Discogs lists Soho House in Amsterdam as one of the recording places for this album. The pin uses the building's coordinates. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at The St. Regis, Bangkok (2021)

Recording site The St. Regis Bangkok — Discogs lists The St. Regis in Bangkok as one of the recording places for this album. The pin uses the building's coordinates. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Human is the fifth studio album by American pop rock band OneRepublic
• Released 27 August 2021 through Mosley Music Group and Interscope Records
• Arrived over four years after Oh My My (2016), the band's longest gap between studio albums
• Lyrical themes cover the COVID-19 pandemic, life, and the connection between humanity and nature
• Electronic production uses drum machines, synthesizers, and manipulated vocals
• Band chose a standalone singles strategy after health issues affected lead singer Ryan Tedder

Background

• Announced September 2019 with a planned release in late November of that year
• Delayed to the second quarter of 2020, then delayed again amid the COVID-19 pandemic
• Tedder said the band had two years of songs scattered on hard drives and aimed to finish the best ones
• Release date of 27 August 2021 announced on 1 July 2021 via the band's Instagram
• Producers included Tedder, Brent Kutzle, Steve Wilmot, Zach Skelton (who worked on the previous album), Tyler Spry, and John Nathaniel

Recording

• Listed recording studios include Uno Mas Studio, Patriot Studios in Los Angeles, Gold-Diggers Sound, Gold Tooth Music, Soho House Amsterdam, Studio Saint Germain, The St. Regis Bangkok, Hipposonic Studios, Hyde Street Studios, and Armoury Studios
• Mixed at MixStar Studios and mastered at Sterling Sound

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2002 by Ryan Tedder and Zach Filkins, who met as seniors at Colorado Springs Christian High School.
• Early incarnation was named This Beautiful Mess, then Republic after reuniting in Los Angeles in 2003.
• Renamed OneRepublic after the record company warned that the name Republic might lead to legal action from similarly named bands.
• Signed to Columbia Records' Velvet Hammer imprint, but was dropped two months before its first album was due.

Members

• Current lineup: Ryan Tedder (lead vocals, piano), Zach Filkins (lead guitar, viola), Drew Brown (rhythm guitar), Brent Kutzle (bass, cello), Eddie Fisher (drums), Brian Willett (keyboards).

Career

• Achieved early success on MySpace as an unsigned act before signing with Timbaland's Mosley Music Group.
• Debut album Dreaming Out Loud (2007) hit No. 14 in the US; lead single "Apologize" reached No. 1 in sixteen countries and earned a Grammy nomination.
• Native (2013) was their first top-ten Billboard 200 album; "Counting Stars" peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Signed to BMG in 2025 after 18 years with Mosley and Interscope Records.
• Has sold approximately over 16 million records worldwide.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• The album polarized music critics
• Critics admired the lyricism and composition of some tracks
• Critics were divided over the overproduced vocals, opaque production, and the excess of rap-trap verses and melodies in much of the songs

Reappraisal

• AllMusic's Neil Z. Yeung called OneRepublic still the masters of the galloping, upbeat pop anthem
• AllMusic also said that including tracks around since 2019 makes much of the album feel like a time capsule
• Vinyl Chapters' Zoë Andrea-Lykourgou wrote that Human is a solid album that starts and ends considerably strongly

Records

• Peaked at number 11 on the Billboard 200 in its debut week
• Debut week below Native (2013) and Oh My My (2016), above Dreaming Out Loud (2007) and Waking Up (2009)
• Reached the top twenty in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Scotland, and Switzerland
• Singles on Bubbling Under Hot 100: Rescue Me number 5, Wanted number 9, Didn't I number 19, Run number 11
• Lose Somebody with Kygo reached number 88 on the US Billboard Hot 100

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Lose Somebody, a collaboration with Kygo, appears only on the deluxe edition and reached number 88 on the US Billboard Hot 100
• Wild Life was released on 25 September 2020 for the soundtrack of the 2020 film Clouds
• Somebody to Love was written by JT Roach on Songland, where Tedder serves as a judge
• Tedder said the album would not be successful if released between Thanksgiving and Christmas
• Rescue Me, the lead single released 17 May 2019, reached number five on the Bubbling Under Hot 100

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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